Zimbardo - Confrmity To Social Roles

Question 1

What are social roles? (2 marks)

Answer 1

Parts people play as members of social groups e.g. teachers and students. Accompanied by expectations that we and others have of appropriate behaviour in each role. Expectations are internalised so they shape behaviour

Question 2

Why did Zimbardo conduct his study?

Answer 2

To know why prison guards behaved brutally - sadistic personality or social roles causing behaviour?

Question 3

Aim?

Answer 3

To investigate how freely people conform to social roles of guard and prisoner in a role playing exercise recreating prison life.

Question 4

Sample?

Answer 4

Volunteer sample, 24 ‘emotionally stable’ US male university students

Question 5

How were ppts split?

Answer 5

10 guards
14 prisoners

Question 6

How were volunteers allocated

Answer 6

Randomly

Question 7

What happened to prisoners?

Answer 7

Arrested at homes, given smock uniform, searched, deloused, referred to as a number

Question 8

What happened to guards?

Answer 8

Given uniforms, ‘night stick’, mirrored sunglasses. Told to keep prisoners under control but not use violence

Question 9

What did the uniforms create?

Answer 9

Loss of personality, encouraging ppts to conform to their social role

Question 10

Where was converted into a mock prison

Answer 10

Basement of psychology department at Stanford

Question 11

What were prisoners given in terms of routine?

Answer 11

Shift and meal times, visiting times, a parole and disciplinary board and prison chaplain

Question 12

What role did Zimbardo take on?

Answer 12

Prison superintendent

Question 13

If a prisoner wanted to leave what did they have to do?

Answer 13

Go through a parole meeting

Question 14

Within a day…

Answer 14

Prisoners rebelled and ripped of their numbers, guards responded locking them in cells and taking away blankets

Question 15

Punishments of the guards escalated and prisoners were

Answer 15

Humiliated and deprived of sleep by guards conducting head counts

Question 16

What was noticeable by the prisoners referring to each other by their numbers instead of their names?

Answer 16

Identification

Question 17

The prisoners became rapidly subdued, some showed signs of

Answer 17

Stress related reactions

Question 18

How many prisoners were released due to signs of psychological disturbance?

Answer 18

3

Question 19

The role play was intended to run for how long but only lasted how long?

Answer 19

2 weeks, six days

Question 20

Guards, prisoners and researchers confirmed to what?

Answer 20

Their social role within the prison

Question 21

Social roles have an extraordinary power over individuals, making even the most well adjusted

Answer 21

Capable of brutality towards others

Question 22

Zimbardo is prone to…

Answer 22

Demand characteristics

Question 23

Why is Zimbardo prone to demand characteristics? WHOLE PEEL

Answer 23

Took on the role of superintendent himself.
Could influence how ppts acted, conforming as they believe that’s what the aim was instead if actually conforming to their social role due to environment.
ALSO they were paid, acting as an incentive.
Lowers internal validity

Question 24

Why were there ethical issues in Zimbardo’s research? What is the counter argument?

Answer 24

Lack of informed consent - didn’t know they would be arrested at homes
Lack of right to withdraw - parole process
No protection from harm - signs of psychological disturbance
COUNTER; spoke to ppts years after and there were no long lasting negative effects.

Question 25

Why does Zimbardo have practical apps?

Answer 25

Soldiers in Abu Ghraib military prison in iraq, similar to Zimbardo’s findings, prisoners tortured, humiliated and physically abused.
Helps develop prevention programmes to train prisons.
Important part of applied psychology

Question 26

What bias does Zimbardo’s research have? COUNTER?

Answer 26

Gender bias
All male sample
Cant generalise to women, role of guard is violent so women less likely to conform due to nurturing and caring personality.
COUNTER: interested in explaining brutality in American prisons where most guards are male